


A Different Story

by GoldenHookDrabbles



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: An Au of the series with a goldenhook and family focus, F/M, M/M, Slash, i still don't know how to tag things, maybe femslash later??, we'll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-10-20 08:29:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10658802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenHookDrabbles/pseuds/GoldenHookDrabbles
Summary: Emma was surprised to hear she had a visitor. Since she was convicted the only visitor she has seen has been her lawyer. She runs her fingertips over the cool metal table, the doors to the visitors room open and she hears the tapping of a cane hitting the laminate. The guard’s eyes briefly meet hers before looking toward her visitor.“Miss Swan my name is Rum Gold.” He inhales deeply. “I… I believe you know my son.”





	1. Chapter 1

Emma was surprised to hear she had a visitor. Since she was convicted the only visitor she has seen has been her lawyer. Her lawyer, a man only a few years older than her and fresh out of law school, was supposed to come by the prison in a few weeks to discuss her parole hearing. He was optimistic about her chances of being released sooner than scheduled, but Emma wasn’t so sure.

She runs her fingertips over the cool metal table, the doors to the visitors room open and she hears the tapping of a cane hitting the laminate. The guard’s eyes briefly meet hers before looking toward her visitor.

“If you need anything just call out.” The man nods. The guard gives Emma one last look before going to stand by the door.

“Friendly fellow.” The man says his fingers run along the handle of the cane. “Do you mind if I sit?”

Emma shrugs, “Do what you want.” He smiles nervously before sitting down. The man is older with hair greying at the temple. Emma watches the man fidget in his seat he seems hesitant to start.

“Miss Swan my name is Rum Gold.” He inhales deeply. “I… I believe you know my son.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out several papers. He slides one across the table. On it is a drawing of a young boy. The page is old and the drawing a little smudged.

“I don’t know any kids.” Gold takes the picture back.

“This is what he looked like the last time I saw him. Shortly after we came to this land. I… I was declared an unfit parent and my boy was taken from me. I’ve been looking for him ever since.” Mr. Gold swallows before continuing, “It’s been difficult. I suspected they changed his name but of course they wouldn’t tell me. I’d hit several dead ends until I saw these.” He slides more of the papers across the table. Emma can see that several are newspaper clippings and printed out computer articles. The pictures are grainy but she can clearly see herself and Neal in some of them stealing from different convenience stores and malls.

“These are... you think Neal is your son?” He nods and smiles sadly.

“He looks like his father.” Emma lets out a deep breath. Neal hadn’t spoken a lot about his parents. Only that his Papa and him had been separated from his Dad then shortly after that he was taken from his Papa and sent to a foster home.

“And you’ve been looking for him all this time…” There's a hint of admiration in her voice, and maybe a bit of jealousy. Mr. Gold has spent years looking for his son.

No one has ever cared for her like that.

“Miss Swan. I understand why you’re here.” He hesitates, “I know I have no right to ask and that you have no reason to tell me. Not after what my son did to you. But please if there’s _anything_ you can tell me about where he is. _Please.”_ Emma can feel his desperation in his last word.

It makes her think of her own parents who left her on the side of a quiet Maine road.

“Neal’s really lucky to have a parent who cares so much. But I don’t know where he went. We made plans to go to Tallahassee together and you can see how well that went.” She gestures to the room around her.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been having a hard time believing that he would…just.” _Leave you_ goes unsaid. Mr. Gold runs his fingers threw his hair. “Thank you it’s a long shot but it’s the best lead I’ve got. I don’t know. If you ever need anything please don’t hesitate.” He replaces the news articles with a business card. “I’m sorry.” He gets up, adjusts his grip on the cane, and turns to leave. Emma bites her lip and runs her finger over the card.

“Mr. Gold!” He stops and turns back to face her. “I think there’s something you should know. I’m pregnant.”

 

Emma lets out a scream as another wave of pain racks threw her, and collapsing on the bed when it stops. She whimpers as she feels fingers in her hair.

“There. There sweetheart. It won’t be long now.” The Scottish brogue is soft and kind. He reaches for the cloth and dabs the sweat from her brow.

“She can start pushing with the next contraction.” Gold nods to the doctor and reaches for Emma’s hand.

“See not much more now.”

“Just the hard part.” She answers humorlessly. Any other comments are stopped as another cry tears it’s way from her.

“Ok Emma push!” Gold winces as her grip tightens but continues to softly encourage her.

An eternity seems to pass, and with it the feeling in Gold’s hand, but finally the doctor announces that the child has been delivered. Emma slumps back into the pillows gasping for air.

“There now it’s all over.” Gold murmurs, she answers with a weak smile. A nurse comes to their side of the bed holding the baby.

“Now who would like to hold the little one first?”

“Emma?”

“NO!” She cries out leaning her body further away from the nurse and baby, “We agreed you’d take the kid. You said you’d take it.”

“I will sweetheart. But don’t you at least want to meet your child?”

“No.” She says with a shake of her head, “No. No I can’t. Please.” Gold nods then takes the baby into his arms.

 

Emma flinches at the sound of the double doors slam shut behind her. She rummages through the box containing the few possessions she has left. Her fingers brush against her old baby blanket causing her stomach to tighten. Under it she finds the keys to the old yellow bug and the name of the garage it’s been left in. She sighs, _some apology Neal._ She moves them to sit on top of the blanket and pushes her way threw the last doors of the prison. She moves the box under her arm and pulls out the envelope with the bus pass the prison issued wondering if the bus will get her close to the garage.  

“Emma!” She’s startled by the sound of her name. Across the parking lot stands Gold. When their eyes meet he smiles.

“What are you doing here? You were supposed to go find Neal.” She makes her way over to his car.

“I have contacts looking in Florida who are keeping an eye out. But I felt we needed to be here.”

“We?” He gives a sidewise glance to the backseat of the car where the car seat covered in a light blue blanket is strapped in. “What?! I thought you wanted him?”

“I do Emma. But I wanted to talk to you first.”

“About what?”

“Emma when you gave up your son you were in an impossible situation. But now you’re out of prison you have more options.”

“I really can’t take care of a kid. I don’t even know what I’m going to do now that I’m out.”

“Well how about you stay with us?”

“What?” Her stomach tightens.

“Emma you deserve the chance to know your son. I’m still going to look for _my_ son but if you're fine with that I’d like you to stay with me and Henry.”

“Henry.” She says barely a whisper.

“I can’t promise much. I move around the country a lot trying to follow new leads and with my work. It’s not the most glamorous thing in the world I just think that family should stick together.”

“We’re not family.”

“You’re Henry’s birth mother, he’s my grandson. I’d say that makes us family and I think you’ve guessed by now I’m not one to give up on family.”


	2. Chapter 2

Henry groans loudly from his place in the passenger seat causing Emma to send him a weak smile.

“Great now Grandpa is going to win.” They can see Gold’s hand rise to wave at them from the front of his dark Cadillac. Emma’s fingers drum against the wheel of her bug.

“Come on kid. We’ve still got some time before we get to town and we still have to find a hotel.”

“Not a lot of time.” He answers grumpily eyes on the _Welcome to Storybrooke_ sign as they pass. Emma looks at Henry’s disappointed face then turns back to the road lined with thick trees. She grips wheel a little tighter before pressing her foot to the pedal causing the bug to speed up. She crosses the double yellow lines into the oncoming traffic lane, Henry cheers as they pass the Cadillac waving excitedly at his grandfather who's giving her a dark look.

“Awesome now we’ll win for sure.” Henry turns in his seat to look back at Gold still waving.

“Yeah we…” She stops when a police siren blares. Behind them the car pulls out onto the road from a driveway that was hidden from the road. “Crap.” Her stomach sinks and Henry quickly right-ins himself in his seat. She pulls over as Gold passes her before pulling over himself. “Henry will you hand me the papers in the glove box?”

“Sorry.” He says as he hands them to her.

“Not your fault.” The officer taps the window to get her attention. She begins to roll down the window, “Sorry.”

“License and registration please.” She hands them over. The sheriff lifts his sunglasses off of his face to rest on his dark hair. “You guys are a long way from home.” He says noticing the out of state license.

“Yeah we move around a lot for work.” He nods.

Looking at the Cadillac, “Friend of yours?”

“That’s my grandpa.”

“Henry.” Emma tries to quite him.

“Please don’t arrest my mom. It was my fault! I just wanted to win!”

“Henry!” The boy shrinks down into his seat.

“Win?” Emma sighs.

“It’s a game. To make the travel a little more fun, we.” She gestures to Gold’s car. “Try to beat each other to the hotel or restaurant, we.” She gestures to Henry, “Were winning before the road turned to one lane and Gold managed to get ahead.”

“Ah. So that explains the drag racing.” Emma laughs along with him. “Well Storybrooke is a quite community. We don’t get a lot of out of towners, and we certainly don’t get a lot of cross-country drag racers.” He hands back the papers to Emma, “I think a warning will do, as long as _some_ people.” He winks at Henry, “Can stop encouraging their mother’s lead foot.”

“Thanks Officer?” She asks over her son’s enthusiastic nod.

“Graham, Sheriff Graham. You both drive safe, and we’ll see about you winning the race.” He taps the top of the bug twice before walking over to the side of the Cadillac.

Henry laughs brightly at his grandfather’s confused expression as Officer Graham asks for him to roll down his window.

 

Gold's work as it turned out was in antiques. Gold claimed the bulk of his wealth was in stocks and investments but Emma had a feeling his start up money came from restoring antiques.

Gold has two real talents; first he was able to spot the big ticket item in with the garbage. Since she began traveling with him and Henry, Gold has dragged her to every flea market and garage sale they have come across. Once there he finds the one or two items that are actually worth something. Like a dingy pocket watch left over from the industrial revolution, a blackened hand mirror and hairbrush that turned out to be real silver. If it had value Gold could, and would, find it.

His second talent Emma thought was his ability to talk. Gold could talk down almost any price or sell anything, the mirror and brush originally $20 was bought for $15 then resold to a collector for $600. Emma had heard the phrase "sell ice to an Eskimo" but never had she met a person who the phrase fit more than Mr. Rum Gold. Or Gold as he most often introduced himself. Watching him haggle it is easy to see that Neal learned his way with words from his Papa.

 

"Mama!" Emma's heart swells hearing her son’s laughter as she turns from the laptop screen to look at her son. Henry toddles in on newly confident legs hair still wet from the bath grandpa gave him. "Mama!"

"What kid?" She places the computer on the seat next to her before reaching down to pick him up. "Here you can help me look for a job. Grandpa can’t be the only one with one around here. Did you have a nice bath?" Henry answers with excited babbles that only sort of sound like English. Emma smiles placing a hand on his back to steady him when his chatter leads to bouncing and as she nods her head as if in understanding, gratitude for getting to share these little moments runs through her.

_I love you kid._

 

Emma runs her fingers threw her sons hair. "We won grandpa!" He shouts as the older man climbs out of his car.

"I see that." He huffs is mock annoyance making his way over to where they stand in front of the inn, looking to Emma, "what did you do? Slip the sheriff a twenty to pull me over."

"You're just mad you didn't think of it first."  She answers, as Henry says no.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the comments and the kudos they are really appreciated!!
> 
> I hope you like this chapter. It still feels a little slow to me but I'm trying to world build a little and set up the rest of the story. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think!


	3. Chapter 3

Rumpelstiltskin runs his fingers over the cool metal wrapped tightly around the spool. He sighs as he reaches over to droop it onto the tray by the door. It spins like a top for a moment before knocking into the other's like it and stopping. The servant, who is forbidden from speaking to him, will arrive in the morning with breakfast and collect the tray of spun gold. He looks around the room. Bare but of the most essential items. A cot to sleep on a window, too high for him to escape from, not that he’s tried, to terrified of what would happen if he was caught. The stand by the door with the tray full of spun gold and of course his spinning wheel surrounded by piles and piles of straw.

It has been months, by his estimation since the Duke’s men had brought him to the cell. With orders to spin straw into gold or face death. He should have been more careful!

No. He should never have attempted to spin straw into gold.

He’d been young when he started to try and learn. Only a few years after he’d gone to live with the couple he’d called his Aunts and glad to have finally found something he was good at. It hadn’t and didn’t matter to him that it was ‘woman’s work’ as the other boys teased him. It was good work. It was honest work.

He was delighted when his Aunts said he’d spin for kings and that he could spin straw into gold. Happy to hear his talent praised. What they had meant of course was he would be able with his talent spin any wool no matter how coarse or common into something worth gold instead of copper or silver. Not that they thought he could actually do magic.

Though in Rumpelstiltskin’s defense. Why shouldn’t he think he could? When with just a bean he could travel to a whole new worlds and his own father turn into a child. So he started to practice. After chores, once his Aunts were asleep, any time he could get a few moments alone.

His Aunts had been amazed when he showed them his first successful attempt, a few inches of crooked metal. They had taken care in how they spent the gold. Aunt Elle traveled several days to bigger villages where they weren’t known and it wasn’t suspicious that she had so much gold. The little family had enjoyed the unexpected wealth, while careful not to gain too much and look suspicious to their neighbors. Claiming instead that the money had come from their yarn and blanket sales in the larger towns.

Unfortunately their luck ran out. The ogres gained ground and fearful villagers left their towns to put some distance from the monsters and their families. It wasn’t long until tradesmen recognized Elle and rumors began to spread about how the poor spinners had gotten their hands on so much gold.

The Duke’s men arrived soon after. Demanding answers. Fearing his Aunts safety he revealed his talent. Then he was taken from his home to the Duke’s castle where he was ordered to spin or else his Aunts would be harmed.

“Is there anything else you guys need?” The tall brunette waitress asked crimson lips split into a wide genuine smile.

“The check please.” Rum answers. Henry chirps out thanks as she leaves.

“So what are we going to do today?”

“Well kid.” Emma starts, “You and I are going to explore the town a little.”

“And I’ll follow up some leads.” Gold continues.

“I wonder why dad would come here.” Gold shrugs while Emma places her arm around Henry's shoulder pulling him in for a side hug. “I mean there’s not much here.”

“Maybe that’s why. For a new start.”

“He might not be here Henry.” Emma cautions. It’s been hard. A part of her feels bad about Henry’s childhood. Randomly uprooting and moving cross-country chasing leads, makes it hard to keep friends. Generally they try to avoid moving by allowing Rum to investigate the lead alone but sometimes Emma and Henry end up joining him.

“Yeah but he might.” Overall Emma worries about what it does to Henry always looking for his dad. He doesn’t seem to let their dead ends and false trails get him down but sometimes she wishes he had more of a stable life.

“I guess we’ll see.” Gold says signing the check. He stands and Henry jumps up to follow. Emma smiles as the pair makes their way to the door her son gesturing wieldy.

“Hey wait up.” Any response from the older man is cut off as the door slams into him. Gold falls to the ground with a grunt, cane clattering on the tile next to him.

“Grandpa!” Henry attempts to help his grandfather stand. Emma rushes to their side.

“Hey!” She shouts at the man who opened the door. He turns slightly towards them; away from the countertop and stool he’d been about to sit on. The man is tall and attractive with dark hair, blue eyes and a beard cut short. She motions to Gold body language demanding  _ apologize jerk! _ She’s stopped from saying anything when she looks at her companion. Rum’s face has gone white as a sheet; brown eyes wide in confusion as he stares at the other man.

He scoffs, “Watch where you’re going.” Emma inhales sharply, squaring her shoulders. Ready to let the ass have it.

“Emma.” She stops, “Emma sweetheart. Just let it go. It’s fine.”

“No its-”

“Rumple?” Now it’s the jerk that looks as if  _ he’s _ seen a ghost as he stares at Gold. Rum nods.

“Hello Killian.”

“You two know each other?” Emma says looking between them. ‘Killian’ doesn’t say anything still looking at Rum.

Gold looks to her, “He’s my husband.”

“What?” She asks breathless.

“Rumple I-” Killian is cut off by Gold.

“Killian just a minute. Emma, Henry.” He motions them to his side.

“Is he really your husband Grandpa?” Emma misses Killian’s eyes go wide at her son’s question. Gold nods.

“Yes. He is.”

“That jerk?” Emma asks again disbelievingly.

Rum laughs softly, “He doesn’t make a good first impression. It’s…” He continues to laugh, “It’s part of his charm.”

Rumpelstiltskin wakes to a heavy weight settling atop him. He tries to force his mind through the fog of sleep but is rushed awake when a hand covers his mouth.

“Hush now.” An accented voice whispers above him, “We don’t want to alert the guards now would we?” Rumple grunts and tries to move but finds himself trapped under the other man wrists held above him. “Settle down.” The voice demands. When Rumple stills the man continues. “Now I’m going to remove my hand from your mouth and get off of you and you are going to stay silent. Or… well I’m sure you can imagine.” Rumple nods in understanding; the man releases Rumpelstiltskin’s hands and climbs off of the cot.

The man steps into the moonlight cast into the room from the window. Now illuminated Rumple can see that the other man wears a long leather coat over a dark red vest. At his hip Rumple can see a cutlass hanging from his belt and the glint of gold and silver rings on his hands.

“What.” The man indicates for Rumpelstiltskin to speak softer, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to steal the wheel.” He points to the spinning wheel alongside the wall.

“Why?” Rumple’s eyebrows crinkle in confusion. The other man chuckles and then points to the stand by the door.

“Because it spins straw into gold. Apparently. It’s just that I might make some noise trying to get it out of here and I didn’t need you waking up and sounding the alarm. So I’m going to give you a choice. Help me get it out of here and I’ll help you escape the country _ or _ if you try to stop me. I’ll just kill you.” He pulls out a flintlock pistol and while he doesn’t point it at Rumple makes it clear he’d be willing to follow through with the threat. “Really you should just cooperate it will make things easier for both of us.”

“But why steal the spinning wheel?” The man looks at Rumple as if he finds the other man especially slow.

“Because it spins straw into gold.” He answers grabbing a strand of gold near the wheel.

“No it doesn’t.” Rumpelstiltskin regrets his words the moment they leave his mouth as the taller man's full attention falls on him.

“What?” Rumple shakes his head and sputters out some words attempting to take back what he said. The man advances towards him causing Rumple to take steps back away from him, he’s stopped when his knees hit the edge of the cot. “No. You meant something. What did you mean?”

“The wheel doesn’t change the straw into gold. It’s just a normal spinning wheel.” The words come tumbling out when the man stops right in front of him. Rumple can smell the scent of leather, black gunpowder, and rum coming off of the man. Rumple’s breathing becomes shallow and his nerves cause his hands to hands to sweat and shake. He awkwardly tries to wipe them on his bedclothes while refusing to look anywhere then the cold blue eyes of the stranger.

A hand rises to Rumple’s chin and forces his face up to meet the man’s gaze. “What do you mean it’s a normal wheel? How does the straw change?” Rumple tries to move his head but the handgrips tighter forcing him to remain in place. The man patiently waits as Rumple forces his body to stop shaking.

“Well. The uh…” Rumpelstilskin’s voice cracks and sounds desperate to his own ears. Still the man refuses to move away or relax his grip. “Uh… the… straw changes because… um…I make it.”

“ _ You _ change it.” Rumple nods inelegantly, “How?”

“Uh… I feed it into the wheel and…” Rumpelstilskin struggles to find the words to explain the process and feelings associated with the act. “And it changes.” The stranger falls silent but continues his icy stare.

Finally, “You don’t have a charm or spell that allows you to do so? You just  _ will _ it to change and it does?” Rumple nods. “You can just spin  _ straw  _ into  _ gold?  _ You can do this on any wheel.” Rumple’s stomach sinks. If the man were willing to steal a wheel would he also be willing to kidnap him? Would he be trading one prison for another? Again he wishes he had never learned to spin straw into gold.

The stranger finally drops his hand freeing Rumple’s face. He takes a step back and sighs deeply.

“Seriously?” Rumple nods in answer hands gripping the edge of his shirt. The man groans and mumbles something to himself. Rumpelstilskin jumps when the man snaps his attention to the smaller man.

Suddenly the man’s body language changes, he becomes more relaxed in stance. Rumple isn’t sure what to make of the sudden shift.

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say your not here of your own free will. So how about this? I help you get out of here.”

“What?” Rumple becomes suspicious. This stranger goes from wanting to steal the spinning wheel to wanting to help him?

“I’ll help you escape? Unless you want to stay here.” He looks around the sparse room, “To spin more straw into gold and probably nothing else.”

“Why would you want to help me?” The man smiles at Rumpelstilskin. A wide, sincere, grin that completely changes his face and makes Rumple’s stomach flip.  

“Let’s just say. Anytime I can make ruin the plans of a royal I will do so and if doing so actually helps someone well… I could always use a few good deeds to balance things out.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops didn't mean to be so long since I updated but work got busy so I haven't been able to write much.   
> Hope you guys liked it! Please comment if you'd like. 
> 
> Also I don't watch the show, haven't really since they had Emma and Hook go back in time and Rumple finds out his son died and he chooses not to do anything to change that, but I still follow some people on tumblr who do so I'm glad Rumple and Belle ended the season happy! And I'm sad Belle's actress is leaving hopefully she finds something soon! I'm not surprised she and Emma's actress are leaving, it sounds like the shows been a mess.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow it's been awhile since I've posted anything in the Once tag, or even anything really.  
> I've had this story idea for a while and started playing around/typing it a few years ago but couldn't get anything to really come of it. But now I think I've got a good outline and idea of where I want it to go and I'm in a better place to try and write it so I figured I'd give it a shot.  
> Please let me know what you think!  
> All mistakes are mine.


End file.
